On his soapbox

If I could tell you who God is to me, I could probably sell a lot of books. It's a profound thing. [Native] Americans call it "the word that can't be spoken", and I think that really says it.

If I could explain to you what God is to me, then it would be a goddamn special day. It's not going to happen because it's a hard thing to put into words. I definitely have belief, faith and a sense of spirit. Yeah, for sure.

In terms of things bigger than that, I don't have a religion of sorts.

When did you feel you had succeeded?

Being able to pay the rent and eat through doing what I love. That was success for me, and that happened a long time ago when I was selling my first album and busking.

Are you out to change people's lives?

No. I'm out to better my own and to learn through music and to share and be part of a positive change. I'm not really out to crusade, I'm just out to learn and be taught. But if I can teach people to learn in the process then, hey,

what a bonus.

Where do you stand on drugs?

There's just not enough time in the day to take them and bounce back [laughs]. I'm pretty flat-out. But there's all kinds of drugs - coffee, alcohol, tobacco - so to say I don't indulge in drugs is hard to say. But I don't like to be in altered states because I have to be really on top of things at the moment; shooting on all neurons, which is hard enough when your straight, let alone when you're screwed up.

What about Mark Latham?

I don't really know him. I kind of respected what he said about George Bush, but I think most people did.

It's good to see somebody in the Opposition that has a little bit of character and a bit of backbone, rather than the spineless, non-character-esque people we have had to choose from. I'm not saying I'm pro-Latham, but it's good to see that someone's sticking a bee up John Howard's bonnet.